HP-UX: What now? / E agora?

This article is written in English and Portuguese
Este artigo está escrito em Inglês e Português

English version:

You know I usually stick to Informix related topics, but a few weeks ago something was announced that has to make us think... As we all know by now, Oracle announced that future versions of their software products will not support HP-UX running on Intel Itanium chips.
Why do we have to think about it? Well, from my personal perspective because it raises a lot of serious doubts/questions. Let's see:

1. First you read in the announcement that Intel is not truly committed to Itanium. The exact words are "Intel management made it clear that their strategic focus is on their x86 microprocessor and that Itanium was nearing the end of its life". Intel denied this in the following days. Who do we believe? The company that owns the chip in question or another (now also) hardware supplier? Is it normal that a company discontinues it's products on a platform that has not announced it's end of life plans?
   
   
2. The announcement was made just before an important HP shareholders meeting... We could of course believe this was just a coincidence
   
   
3. In the last months a lot of news came up referring to personal wars between Oracle's and HP's executives (ex HP CEO is now a very important Oracle executive). Meanwhile ex SAP CEO has been appointed as HP CEO, and Oracle and SAP had an ongoing court trial started at the time he was SAP's CEO. All these an point 2) may lead us to the feeling that while personalities clash, customers suffer. There's nothing wrong with having strong personalities as leaders of large companies, on the contrary. But we would expect their egos not to cause harm to their customers (of course "harm" translates into costs, uncertainty, fear and doubts - typically FUD that competitors like to spread, but in this case competitors don't have to bother...)
   
   
4. Oracle mentions that others (Microsoft and Red Hat) have previously discontinued support for Itanium. This is true, but there is a big difference: The market share that these two companies had in the Itanium market was considered irrelevant. Now, for Oracle, the situation is completely different. They have a large share of Itanium customers (accordingly to this blog, there are around 140.000 Oracle/Itanium customers)
   
   
5. Some people argue that supporting a platform has it's costs. Of course this is true, but the costs are certainly well covered if the above number holds true. That's part of the business. In order to provide a product, you incur in certain costs. And also note that Oracle always said, wrote an publicized that their code base was the same independently of the platform. So using this as an argument is hardly acceptable...
   
   
6. Many people think this is just a commercial move from Oracle. They're trying to weak a competitor position while at the same time they hope to raise their own hardware sales. We can accept that this is normal, but we should keep in mind a few things. First, just a while ago Oracle choose HP as an hardware partner (remember Exadata?). Secondly Oracle CEO has said that it would like to see Oracle becoming the IBM of the sixties (integrated stack where the margins would be bigger), but that it would keep its software running on competitor platforms. Well something has changed :)
   
   
7. Will this be the only case, or will Oracle do the same in the future with other OS? The fact is that the number of OS and Hardware vendors for enterprise computing is shrinking. You currently have Microsof Windows on Intel x86, IBM AIX on System p, HP-UX on Itanium, Solaris Sparc, Linux on Intel x86, and Solaris on Intel (I'm explicitley forgeting other platforms like IBM System Z and HP NonStop). Oracle is doing it's best to eliminate HP-UX/Itanium. Will it stop there? Or will it proceed it's path to become "the IBM of the 1960s" (meaning the closed system that locked customers in)? Note that IBM still suffers with the image it created at the time.

The above are just a list of some important points. I may be missing a few. The announcement must had a significant impact on HP Itanium customers running Oracle software. Imagine that you wake up one morning and find out that the software vendor you choose gave up supporting your platform. Of course you'll have support for your existing products, but you'd really appreciate a roadmap... By the way, wasn't that the same company that 10 years ago accused IBM of not having a roadmap for Informix? It's funny when we put things into perspective...
So, assuming you're one of those customers what will you do? You have a few options:

1. You jump on the Oracle train and buy a one way ticket... I mean you choose Sparc for your upcoming hardware renovation... You don't know where the train will take you... You don't even know how much it will cost you... Specially because you just bought a one way ticket... Once you're "there" you'll figure what what price the next ride will cost... One thing you know: You'll be traveling with the same company since no other operates in the same region...
   
   
2. You choose another hardware platform, and you really hope the same trick will not be played again
   
   
3. You change your software supplier

I'd say none of the options above looks particularly attractive. But in case you need another database (and you're able to get your application running against it), you should really consider Informix. Here's why:

1. It's robust, easy to use, reliable, works well in virtualized environments etc., but you should already know that
   
   
2. It has a roadmap and has just completed a decade of improvements after the IBM acquisition
   
   
3. It belongs to a company that will try to sell you it's hardware, because it believes it's good, and not because it tends to be the only option to run it's software
   
   
4. It's already very well integrated with many of the other IBM software portfolio, and this is assumed to be a continuous effort
   
   
5. It has a long history of working well with HP-UX (traditionally on PA-RISC and now with Itanium). A search for "informix" in the HP site will show you several HP documents about integration between Informix and HP-UX

To wrap up this article, I'd like to put here a few links that relate to this topic. I hope they'll allow you to see what's being written about this Oracle announcement, and to form your own opinion about it.

• The original Oracle announcement
  http://www.oracle.com/us/corporate/press/346696
  
• The Register article about the announcement
  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/03/23/oracle_stops_itanium_development/
• The Register article covering HP and Intel answer to the announcement
  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/03/24/intel_hp_itanium_defense/
• The Register article overview of the users thoughts about the announcement
  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/04/26/gabriel_oracle_itanium_survey/
• Gabriel Consulting survey referenced in the previous link
  http://www.gabrielconsultinggroup.com/recent-research/doc_download/42-oracle-survey-whats-the-real-reason-oracle-dropped-itanium.html
• HP echoes some users comments
  http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2011/110414xa.html?jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN
• HP site dedicated to this issue
  http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/solutions/customers_first.html
• HP blog from an executive containing a FAQ
  http://h30507.www3.hp.com/t5/Mission-Critical-Computing-Blog/FAQs-from-HP-on-the-Oracle-Itanium-Announcement/ba-p/89977
  

Versão Portuguesa:

Normalmente restrinjo-me a assuntos exclusivamente relacionados com Informix, mas há algumas semanas atrás foi anunciado algo que nos tem de fazer pensar.... Como já todos deveremos saber nesta altura, a Oracle anunciou que futuras versões do seu software não irão suportar HP-UX a correr em chips Itanium.
Porque é que devemos reflectir sobre isto? Bom, na minha opinião pessoal porque isto levanta uma série de dúvidas e questões importantes. Vejamos:

1. Começamos por ler no anúncio que a Intel não está verdadeiramente empenhada no Itanium. As palavras exactas (tradução pessoal) foram: "... a gestão da Intel deixou claro que o foco da sua estratégia é a linha de processadores x86 e que o Itanium se está a aproximar do fim de vida..." . A Intel negou isto nos dias seguintes. Em quem acreditamos? Na empresa que detém o processador em questão ou noutra empresa (agora também) fornecedora de hardware? Será normal que uma empresa anuncie o fim de desenvolvimento dos seus produtos numa plataforma cujo fim de vida não foi sequer anunciado?
   
   
2. O anúncio foi feito imediatamente antes de um encontro de accionistas da HP.... Podemos claro acreditar que isto foi apenas uma coincidência
   
   
3. Nos últimos meses vieram a público uma série de notícias referentes a guerras pessoais entre executivos da HP e Oracle (o ex CEO da HP é agora um quadro importante na Oracle - o número dois na verdade, logo abaixo do Larry Ellison). Entretanto o ex CEO da SAP foi nomeado CEO da HP, e a Oracle e HP tinham um processo em tribunal que remonta ao tempo em que o mesmo era CEO da SAP. Tudo isto e o ponto 2) podem levar-nos a pensar que enquanto as personalidades se chocam os clientes sofrem. Não há nada de errado em que grandes empresas tenham personalidades fortes na sua liderança, bem pelo contrário. Mas seria de esperar que os egos não prejudiquem os respectivos clientes. O "prejuízo" traduz-se em custos, incerteza, medos e dúvidas - o que em Inglês se chama "FUD - fear, uncertainty and doubt -", que normalmente é espalhado pela concorrência, mas que neste caso nem requer esforço da concorrência pois é feiro pelos próprios.
   
   
4. A Oracle referiu que outros (Microsoft e Red Hat) já tinham previamente descontinuado o suporte para Itanium. Isto é verdade, mas há uma enorme diferença: A quota de mercado que estas duas empresas tinham em Itanium não é comparável à da Oracle. Esta tem uma grande percentagem dos clientes Itanium a usarem os seus produtos (de acordo com este blog, existem cerca de 140.000 clientes Oracle/Itanium)
   
   
5. Algumas pessoas defendem que suportar uma plataforma tem os seus custos. Isto é uma verdade óbvia., mas esses custos são largamente cobertos se os números acima forem correctos. Isso faz parte do negócio. Para fornecer um produto as empresas (de qualquer tipo) incorrem em custos. Note-se ainda que a Oracle sempre disse, escreveu e publicitou que o seu código era o mesmo independente da plataforma. Por tudo isto, o argumento do custo de suportar uma plataforma não me parece aceiável...
   
   
6. Muitas pessoas acreditam que isto é apenas uma manobra comercial da Oracle. Estão a tentar enfraquecer um concorrente ao mesmo tempo que tentam aumentar as suas p´roprias vendas de hardware. Podemos encarar isto como algo relativamente normal, mas devemos manter em mente uma série de factos. Primeiro, apenas há algum tempo atrás, a Oracle escolheu a HP como o seu parceiro de hardware (lembram-se do Exadata?). Segundo, o CEO da oracle disse que gostava de ver (tradução pessoal) A Oracle tornar-se a IBM dos anos sessenta (soluções integradas onde as margens são maiores), mas que manteria o seu software a correr nas plataformas da concorrência. Parece que algo mudou entretanto... :)
   
   
7. Será este um caso único, ou irá a Oracle fazer os mesmo com outras plataformas? A verdade é que as plataformas (SO e hardware) para computação empresarial estão a diminuir. Actualmente temos Microsof Windows em Intel x86, IBM AIX em System p, HP-UX em Itanium, Solaris Sparc, Linux em Intel x86, e Solaris em Intel (estou a omitir outras plataformas como IBM System Z e HP NonStop) . A Oracle está a fazer o seu melhor para eliminar HP-UX em Itanium. Irá parar por aí? Ou irá prosseguir os seu caminho para se tornar a "IBM dos anos sessenta" (neste caso um sistema fechado que prende os clientes)? Note-se que a IBM ainda sofre com a imagem criada nessa altura.

Acima está uma lista de alguns pontos importantes. Posso ter esquecido alguns. O anúncio deve ter tido um impacto significativo nos clientes HP Itanium que utilizam software Oracle. Imagine que acorda uma manhã e descobre que o fornecedor de software que seleccionou, deixou de suportar a sua plataforma. Claro que terá suporte para os produtos que já existem, mas certamente apreciaria a existência de um roadmap... Aliás, não foi esta a mesma empresa que há 10 anos atrás acusou a IBM de não ter um roadmap para Informix? É engraçado quando se colocam as coisas em perspectiva...
Assim, assumindo que é um desses clientes, o que irá fazer? A meu ver tem algumas opções:

1. Apanha o compboio da Oracle e compra um bilhete de ida... Ou seja, escolhe SPARC para a sua próxima renovação de hardware... Não sabe para onde o comboio o leva... Nem sequer sabe quanto lhe vai custar... Especialmente porque comprará apenas um bilhete de ida... Depois de "lá" chegar logo verá qual o preço da próxima "viagem"... Uma coisa será certa: Irá viajar com a mesma empresa, pois mais ninguém opera na mesma "região"...
   
   
2. Escolhe outra plataforma de hardware e espera ardentemente que o mesmo truque não seja empregue novamente
   
   
3. Muda de fornecedore de softtware

Diria que nenhuma das opções acima parece particularmente atractiva. Mas caso necessite de uma nova base de dados (e possa colocar a sua aplicação a correr nela), deveria considerar o Informix. Eis porquê:

1. É robusto, confiável, corre bem em ambientes virtualizadoes etc.., mas isto já deverá saber
   
   
2. Tem um roadmap e acabou de completar 10 anos de inovação após a aquisição pela IBMI
   
   
3. Pertence a uma empresa que tentará vender-lhe o seu hardware porque acredita que é bom, e não apenas porque tende a ser a única plataforma onde pode correr o seu hardware
   
   
4. Já está bastante bem integrado com muito do software IBM, e isto é assumidamente um esforço contínuo
   
   
5. Tem uma longa história de bom desempenho em HP-UX (tradicionalmente em PA-RISC e actualmente em Itanium). Uma pesquisa por "informix" no site da HP irá mostrar-lhe vários documentos da HP sobre a integração entre Informix e HP-UX

Para fechar este artigo, gostaria de deixar alguns links relacionados com este assunto. Espero que lhe permitam ver o que tem sido escrito sobre este anúncio da Oracle, e que possa formar a sua p´ropria opinião sobre o tema.

• O anúncio original
  http://www.oracle.com/us/corporate/press/346696
  
• Um artigo no "The Register" sobre o anúncio
  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/03/23/oracle_stops_itanium_development/
• Um artigo no "The Register" cobrindo as respostas da HP e Intel
  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/03/24/intel_hp_itanium_defense/
• Um artigo no "The Register" sobre as opiniões dos utilizadores sobre o anúncio
  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/04/26/gabriel_oracle_itanium_survey/
• Inquérito do "Gabriel Consulting" referenciado no artigo anterior
  http://www.gabrielconsultinggroup.com/recent-research/doc_download/42-oracle-survey-whats-the-real-reason-oracle-dropped-itanium.html
• Alguns ecos sobre o assunto publicados pela HP
  http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2011/110414xa.html?jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN
• Um site da HP dedicado ao assunto
  http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/solutions/customers_first.html
• Um blog de um executivo da HP que contém um FAQ sobre o tema
  http://h30507.www3.hp.com/t5/Mission-Critical-Computing-Blog/FAQs-from-HP-on-the-Oracle-Itanium-Announcement/ba-p/89977
  

Printing my iThoughtsHD Mind Maps with the HP ePrint Technology

Just this past week I updated my version of iThoughtsHD to Version 2 on my iPad and had a chance to create some great maps for some projects I am working on. One of the really great features of iThoughtsHD is the fact that it can open and export to a wide range of mind mapping formats. So regardless of which mind mapping application you are using on your desktop you can be sure that you will be able to open it with the leading mind mapping desktop applications. After I created a mind map with iThoughtsHD I realized that I wanted to be able to print it out on my new Hp D110 ePrint Printer. Since iThoughtsHD does not support printing at this time, I simply emailed the map to my HP D110 printer and within seconds my map was printed. Every Hp printer with ePrint technology has a unique email address which makes it  easy to mail all kinds of documents to. When you are ready to print from your computer or mobile device simply enter the the Hp email address for the printer and your are good to go. Talk about an easy way to print your iThoughtsHD mind maps.

Wireless Printing Takes to New Heights with the HP Photosmart D110

Today I went out to Staples during their Presidents' Sale and purchased a HP PhotoSmart D110 printer for $59.98- not bad considering that when I went to buy replacement ink cartridges for a much older HP PhotoSmart printer that I had, the new printer cost less! In any case, I decided to buy the new HP printer to  accomplish a couple of goals; one to be able to print from my laptop wirelessly, two, be able to print from my iPad, and three to be able to print from the web. When I purchased the HP PhotoSmart D110 printer, I accomplished all of my goals in one fell swoop. Not bad for a rather inexpensive printer! Within minutes I had configured the printer to find my router and I was up and running on my laptop computer. I then took out my iPad and opened Pages and printed out my first document which looked great from my new printer.

The last piece of the puzzle was printing from the web. I went up to the HP web site to register my printer and approved a list of users with their emails who can print to my printer.  You see each HP ePrinter has a unique email address that you are given, which lets you print to, over the web. You can print just about any type of document by sending it to your unique email address which kicks in the process. There is even a web site where you can monitor your printer and assign new users who can print to your printer. Having the new HP PhotoSmart D110 printer is liberating knowing that I can print from just about anywhere. If  you are in the market for a new printer I would certainly recommend the new line of HP printers that support ePrinting. With ePrinting you can use your Mac, PC, iPad and print over the web from any device-now that's a printing solution!

Where did the Summer Go?

As I write this post, I am reflecting on the past several days as my wife and I got my daughter situated and moved into her college dorm. If you have never moved a child into a a dorm or an apartment it sure is a lot of work! Once again another transition, as all of us move into our respective lines of work. Tomorrow I am back at the College of St. Elizabeth to start the Fall 2008 semester. It is hard to believe just how fast the summer went! I am eagerly awaiting to see my graduate students and look forward to sharing with them the trends and the new and exciting products that will soon be released. There is no escaping the impact that Web 2.0 has had on the field of educational and assistive technology as more and more mainstream tools on the web find their way into the work that we do. With free text to speech applications and the range of applications like Google Docs, Buzzword, Jing, and Jott- just to name a few, the combinations are endless as we craft our recommendations for the students we work with. As more and more teachers become aware of the power of wiki's- they can really begin to help students make their curriculum more accessible for those students that need it. All this summer I have been working with teachers on a math grant applying the principles of Universal Design for Learning into their math lesson plans. It has been exciting for me to watch how the teachers have embraced the UDL theory and have been able to plan accessible lessons which have been scaffolded with technology.

Reflecting on my trip to NECC 2008- this year will go down as the year of the netbook. If you haven't had a chance to look at these ultra small notebooks now is the time to do so. The netbooks will be seen as just one more vehicle for students to have a rather inexpensive tool to access the internet with. Weighing in at about 2.2 pounds these devices will will run Window XP and in many cases a variant of Linux. Asus, Acer, and HP have jumped into the bandwagon and soon Dell will announce their new netbook which will probably be released later this month. Schools will begin to look at these devices more seriously because of the cost and their functionality for the money. Many of the netbooks start at around $300 dollars and up. It should be interesting to watch as schools begin to adopt these tools.

Teaching at the college gives me another perspective from the vantage point of higher education as to how technology is being applied for instruction. At the college all students have access to Blackboard which is used as a portal for instruction. I have created some very rich courses using Blackboard that provide my students with a multitude of resources. Over the years I have developed many learning resources for my students using Camtasia Studio, a wonderful application for creating screencasts and video tutorials. At NECC 2008, I was introduced to Adobe Captivate 3 which I will add to my einstruction toolkit. Adobe Captivate 3 not only allows you to create video demonstrations, but also allows you to quickly develop compelling interactive media which you can output to Flash. I will be posting some more information about Adobe Captivate 3 in some later posts in September.

Certainly, collaboration is the buzzword and I'm sure going forward you will be hearing more and more about this as developers add these features into their existing applications. But you only have to look to Web 2.0 technologies to see that the foundation is already there for example in Google Docs and Buzzword, just to name a few. For this reason it will become even more important when we are educating our students and preparing them for the world or work that they have opportunities to work in teams and to collaborate with others outside the context of their school. Do what you can to seek out the exciting projects like the Flat Classroom Project that are taking place on the web to give your students these invaluable opportunities and experiences. I have learned that, yes the world is flat and having tools like Skype, Oovoo, CrossLoop, Yuuguu, Adobe ConnectNow and Dimdim, have allowed me to conduct the work that I do effortlessly without the need to leave my office. So reach out beyond your school and district and challenge your students to use these rich sets of tools to make learning more meaningful and rewarding.

I trust that this will be an exciting start to the school year and I look forward to sharing my ideas and experiences with you as I continue to explore and use new tools. Please feel free to email me with your comments and suggestions.